Kemi Badenoch, the junior former minister who electrified the Tory leadership contest , has said she feels she has “worked hard enough” to be given a job when the next prime minister forms a new government. Speaking to The Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast , Mrs Badenoch revealed that she only decided to stand the day after Boris Johnson had said he would resign – and her children found out from the TV news. The Brexiteer was widely praised for her fresh approach to campaigning in the leadership contest , with clear Right-wing policies that won support among the grassroots in polling. She got to the final four candidates and was knocked out of the race on Tuesda y after winning the backing of 59 MPs – nearly one in six of the parliamentary party including Michael Gove, the former Cabinet minister. In her first interview since, Mrs Badenoch – who has been tipped as a future Home Secretary – declined to say who she had supported in the final round of voting or what … [Read more...] about Kemi Badenoch: I only decided to run for Tory leadership a day after Boris Johnson quit
Quit resignation letter
Paul O’Grady quits BBC Radio 2 after he was forced to share slot with comedian 30 years his junior
Paul O'Grady is quitting his BBC Radio 2 show following a shake-up which saw him share the slot with another presenter. The 67-year-old hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for almost 13 years before a change saw him regularly swapping with comic Rob Beckett. The duo have been hosting their shows alternately, each for 13 weeks at a time. Mr O'Grady's last show will be on Sunday August 14, when his current cycle ends. He said: "I've loved doing my Sunday afternoon show for the last 14 years and I'm going to miss my listeners, as well as the fun I've had with my producer Malcolm Prince, but I feel that now is the right time to go." Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, added: "I'd like to thank Paul for so many years of his brilliant Sunday afternoon show. "I'm sorry to see him go, but I wish Paul the very best of luck for the future and hope to work with him again as the door is always open to him here at Radio 2." In February, after the schedule change prompted an unhappy … [Read more...] about Paul O’Grady quits BBC Radio 2 after he was forced to share slot with comedian 30 years his junior
Was Carter Page a spy? For the Russians? Or the US?
The appearance of Carter Page in the Nunes memo is the latest odd connection to the Russia investigation for a man disavowed by the Trump administration yet whose name seems to never quite fade away. From his trademark grin to his appearances on news shows, Page has remained an enigma that hints at some deeper, yet unknown, involvement. But there is something else that has always intrigued me about Page: some of the similarities we seem to share. We both served in the US Navy and were both approached by Russian intelligence officers and FBI counterintelligence special agents. But is that where the similarities end? As somebody who spent over three years working undercover for the FBI as a double-agent against the Russians, I have often asked myself if the Page saga represents a US intelligence failure or perhaps something else. Is it possible that Page may have been helping the US government? Could he have, in fact, been a US operational asset? Carter Page first came to the … [Read more...] about Was Carter Page a spy? For the Russians? Or the US?